Road: Griffiths wins Abberton Road Race

Third in the same event two years ago, Essex racer Steve Griffiths stepped up to take the win in the 2013 Abberton Road Race near Colchester on Sunday.

Griffiths, 26 and from Hornchurch, took the win for Pro Cycle Hire UK Racing Team in an eight-rider sprint finish at the end of the 60-mile race.

Cambridge CC’s Toby Parnell took second spot, while the podium was completed by St Ives CC rider Lubomir Belak.

The eight-man break was just over a minute clear of the bunch, and also included Gray Turnock (Finsbury Park CC), Graham Collins (Ipswich BC), Damien Foy (Eagle RC), Gonzalo Rodriguez (East London Velo) and Patrick Schils (Velo Schils).

Griffiths was part of an earlier three-man break which went clear on the first of ten laps of the windswept circuit around a reservoir, and that trio was joined by other attackers as the race progressed.

But they struggled to get any workable gap and were swallowed up by the bunch.

At the bell an eight-rider break got clear, and quickly gained a gap on the rest. In the sprint for the line Parnell attacked first, but Griffiths was on his wheel and overhauled him just before the line.

“It was pretty windy out there,” said Griffiths afterwards. “I got away in the early break and that soon grew, but another three attacked again, and the rest of us went back to the bunch.

“They stayed away for another lap and a half, but the bunch caught them too, so it was all back together.

“We got a good gap shortly after the bell, and we were all working hard to stay clear this time. My team-mates worked hard all day too so I’m glad for them to get the win.”

British Cycling would like to thank the organising team, officials and everyone else who helped promote this event. Our sport could not exist without the hundreds of people, many of them unpaid volunteers, who put in many hours of hard work running events, activities and clubs.